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Laser Welding Vs. Tig welding

01-12-2013, 02:38 AM

Can some one explain to me the difference between laser and Tig welding. I know the technical difference but what are some pros and cons? Is Laser welding the new tig welding? If Laser can weld thin/thick and produces stronger more cosmetic welds isn't tig welding going to be slowly phased out? From the limited knowledge i have about laser, the only major setback right now is the cost of machine. As technology advances the price point will slowly decline allowing it into the hands of consumers? Is there some major negative with regards to laser which i am overlooking?

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I ran a robotic welder a few years ago for a company that makes HD parts. We used a mig setup on our robots where the competition was using laser and theirs sure looked better which is what HD wanted but i don't know if it cost more...Bob

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Well the cost is obviously a consideration right now but as technology improves, the cost of this technology will obviously come down and become more main stream.

However after reading the article provided by pepi one issue with laser welding replacing TIG is the inability to fill gaps. parts must be machined and fit perfect to be welded due to the thin weld and lack of filler. (or very thin filler)

"There are two different approaches to laser welding. One is the low-power method for relatively thin materials; and the other is the "brute force" high-power approach that generally involves keyholing. In both cases, since filler material is rarely used, a tight fitup of the parts being welded is necessary. For butt and seam welds, the laser energy is applied to the junction of the materials, minimizing heat input and distortion and permitting high processing speeds. However, these butt joints must fit accurately, which often limits laser butt welding to circular parts which can be turned to close tolerances and press-fit together prior to welding."

But laser welding is gaining traction. Does anyone know of who makes quality machines? I wonder if Miller is already in the RD stage?

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Hi-Tech-Welding in lees summit missouri . We are a tool&die repair shop and we currently have 2 laser welding machines and a micro welding machine. We repair tool & die molds welding parting lines , edm burns, engraving etc. we weld with wire as small as .005 thousands thin to .020 thick. All of these process are done while looking threw a micro scope . We can weld ss,mild steel,aluminum,BE/cu copper, and materials as hard at a2 (60 Rockwell ) . But also we do custom welding on thin parts. A lot of reasons for this is because you conventional tig torch will burn and sink very small parts . I've welded materials as thin as .002 thick together but fusion and no warp in parts. We also have micro tig welding which is done underneath a micro scope and a tig torch and can weld with wire as thin as .015 thousands. Check our website out http://www.hi-tech-welding.com/